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When the audience is laughing during a horror film, it’s usually a bad sign. Horror movies are almost always supposed to frighten the bejesus out of viewers, not leave them snickering in the aisles. But every so often a horror flick comes along that expertly blends screams and laughs.

Good horror comedies are hard to find, though, so Wired went straight to the source this Halloween season: We asked the experts at horror magazine Fangoria to give us the best side-splitters they could think of.

“We here at Fangoria love Shaun of the Dead and Ghostbusters just as much as the next horror fan. We cheered our way through Gremlins and still shudder at scenes from American Werewolf in London,” the mag’s writer David McKendry and marketing director Rebekah McKendry said in an e-mail introduction to their list for Wired. “But, we pride ourselves on being horror experts and having the copious historical knowledge to give you titles that you may not be familiar with.”

Check out their top picks, as well as a few alternates, in the trailer gallery above, and get ready for a hilarious Halloween. (Plus, stay tuned for more Fangoria picks next week.)

Above:

Vampire’s Kiss (1988)

The Fangoria braaaaains-trust says: “This top-notch vampire flick was one of the first signs that Nicolas Cage had some bizarre intensity going on. Vampire’s Kiss is filled with moments which convinced 1988 audiences that Cage was just fucking nuts. It has homages to Hammer vampire flicks and more traditional horror films, but Cage’s hapless and sadistic nature make this hilarious horror one for the record books.”

Blowback: What’s Your Favorite Horror Comedy?

What classic horror comedies will have you cackling in the run-up to All Hallows’ Eve this year? Unleash your own hilarious horror picks in the comments below.